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Te Whare Taumata O Nēhi Taiwhenua O Aotearoa

Rural nurses New Zealand
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Te Whare Taumata O Nēhi Taiwhenua O Aotearoa bring an informed and united nurse perspective to the Hauora Taiwhenua Council.  

About Us

Our Chapter includes enrolled nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, and nursing students from across rural New Zealand.  

We advocate and encourage the New Zealand rural nursing workforce and support access to education and supervision for rural nurses.  

Through our knowledge, connections, and expertise, we work to support and strengthen rural nursing in Aotearoa. 

Executive Committee

Emma Dillon

Chair

Currently working in Southland as a Nurse Practitioner in Otautau and Riverton (Aparima). Living in Pahia near the south-coast of sunny Southland. Member of RNNZ since establishment in 2017.

Shawna Stephens

Co-Chair

Shawna works primarily as a solo NP on Rakiura/Stewart Island and hones her emergency skills in the ED at Southland Hospital. She is passionate about improving rural and remote healthcare and finds tremendous fulfillment in the connections that rurality affords.

Stacy-Maree Thwaites

Stacy is a Rural District Nurse in the Queenstown-Lakes region, where she thrives on the unique challenges and independence of rural healthcare. With a special interest in supporting the wellbeing of rural nurses, Stacy is dedicated to promoting continuing education and professional development. Her work reflects a deep commitment to both her patients and her peers, ensuring that rural healthcare remains strong, resilient, and well-equipped to meet any challenge.

Debi Lawry

Board Member Central Otago

Debi Lawry is a Board member of Hauora Taiwhenua. She has had a 47 year nursing career, that has been mainly hospital focussed. She brings a wide range of experience, from working clinically, to education roles, midwifery roles and nursing leadership roles – Charge Nurse / Nurse Consultant / Director of Nursing.

Debi worked at Dunstan Hospital in Central Otago from 2007 to 2020 in a nursing leadership / management role which included 6 months as acting CE. The last 2 years of her working life was spent as service manager for Rural Health at Southern DHB. This included managing Lakes District Hospital in Queenstown … in time for the pandemic to strike.

Debi joined the rural hospital network in 2009 and has been an exec member since 2010. She was a foundation member of rural nurses NZ and has been on the exec since it’s inception, including a term as Chair. These two organisations have morphed into chapters of HTRHN, and now benefit from being part of a larger rurally focussed organisation.

Debi’s focus is on rural hospitals and nursing across all areas of rural practice.

She would like to see equity in health outcomes for all. She believes a strong unified voice to champion key rural issues is vital. HTRHN is well positioned to provide that voice.

Gemma Hutton

My name is Gemma Hutton, I am a Nurse Practitioner in Twizel and continue to provide Telehealth/Locum support for the West Coast which was the area where I started my rural journey.

The majority of my career has been in rural health. I was a former board member of RGPN and I remain involved in advocating for rural health within my local area.

Tracey Reid

Clinical Nurse Specialist Dunstan Hospital

Tracey Reid has been working rurally in Central Otago for the last 20 years. Tracey is passionate about rural nursing education and also works with the University of Otago’s, Centre of Rural Health, convening the Rural Interprofessional Simulation Course. Tracey is a Clinical Nurse Specialist at Dunstan Hospital and at Health Central and aims to provide the best care that she can to her local community. It’s a privilege to be on the Rural Nurses executive committee and represent Rural Nurses across the Motu.

Megan Yates

Helen Connole

Relevant news

Stand Up for Better Healthcare – Join the Buller Declaration Roadshow

New Zealand’s health system is under strain, and communities across the country are calling for urgent action. The Buller Declaration is a nationwide movement advocating for real change, and a series of Public Meetings are being held to raise awareness and gather support. We encourage you to attend a meeting near you, hear from expert speakers, and add your signature to the Declaration. Together, we can make a difference and ensure our voices are heard when the Declaration is presented to Parliament in November.

Rural Māori Health Summit update

On Monday, 17th February, the Hauora Taiwhenua Board co-hosted a Rural Māori Health Summit alongside our Te Tiriti partners, Te Rōpū Ārahi. We were joined by a number of our members, Māori health stakeholders, senior health officials and politicians. Our strength as public advocates for rural health was demonstrated by the line-up of keynote speakers invited to share updates on progress toward improving Māori health in rural communities. Ministers Matt Doocey and Mark Patterson underscored the importance of this kaupapa by attending despite it being a sitting day in Parliament.

Dr Grant Davidson’s Interview with John Campbell

"Underfunded, under-resourced, under pressure." TVNZ's John Campbell takes a deep dive into the state of our health system—highlighting the urgent challenges faced in healthcare. Our Chief Executive, Dr Grant Davidson, shares powerful insights on the realities for rural communities and health professionals.